Written Answers Friday 11 February 2011

Scottish Executive

Census

Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been made to ensure the security and confidentiality of the personal information collected in the forthcoming census.

Jim Mather: Every householder has a legal duty to provide information about the people in the household on Census Day, which is 27 March 2011. There is also a legal duty, under the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991, which protects the confidentiality of the personal information which people supply in the census. The Registrar General, who is responsible for organising the census in Scotland, has commissioned an independent review, jointly with those responsible for the census in the rest of the UK, of the arrangements which have been made to ensure the security and confidentiality of that information.

  The report of the review has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52459). It concludes that:

  "The public can be assured that the information that they provide to the 2011 censuses will be well protected."

NHS Funding

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initial resources are being made available to NHS boards and Special Health Boards in 2011-12.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards revenue resource funding will increase overall by 3.2% in 2011-12. Special Health Boards receive an general uplift of 1%; a differential efficiency target has been set for Special Health Boards services not delivering direct patient care to improve efficiency and support funding front-line services.

  Details of NHS boards and Special Health Boards initial revenue resource allocations for 2011-12 are as follows:

  

 
Initial Allocation
 2011-12 £ million
Uplift
2011-12%


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
574.7
2.8%


NHS Borders
167.3
2.9%


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
241.7
2.9%


NHS Fife 
507.1
3.1%


NHS Forth Valley
402.8
3.2%


NHS Grampian 
691.1
3.8%


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
1,895.6
2.7%


NHS Highland
484.8
3.0%


NHS Lanarkshire 
815.6
3.2%


NHS Lothian 
1,054.4
4.2%


NHS Orkney 
31.5
3.0%


NHS Shetland
36.7
2.9%


NHS Tayside
596.4
2.9%


NHS Western Isles
57.7
2.7%


Total NHS Boards
7,557.4
3.2%


Special Boards
 
 


Scottish Ambulance Service
197.7
1.0%


NHS National Services Scotland
266.0
-1.8%


NHS 24
59.4
1.0%


The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
33.2
1.0%


NHS National Waiting Times Centre
39.1
1.0%


NHS National Education Scotland
393.4
-2.0%


NHS Health Scotland
20.2
-4.0%


NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
17.2
-4.0%


Total Special Health Boards
1,026.2
-1.1%


Total
8,583.6
2.6%



  The 2010-11 baseline on which uplift has been calculated has been restated reflecting the withdrawal of funding from HM Treasury in respect of cost of capital; the position is neutral as the associated expenditure is no longer incurred. The impact of other corporate budget transfers and in-year recurrent allocations through 2010-11 have also been reflected in the baseline prior to applying funding uplift.

  The uneven spread of uplift across NHS boards is due to:

  funding in respect of the £70 million change fund being allocated on a age related formula; and

  allocations in respect of abolition of prescription charges being provided on the basis of expected loss of income for each board.

  Details of NHS boards and Special Health Boards initial capital allocations for 2011-12 are as follows:

  

 
Initial Allocation
2011-12 £ million


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
21.6


NHS Borders
5.5


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
5.0


NHS Fife 
22.2


NHS Forth Valley
11.4


NHS Grampian 
64.6


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
215.1


NHS Highland
13.6


NHS Lanarkshire 
18.5


NHS Lothian 
65.3


NHS Orkney 
0.9


NHS Shetland
0.2


NHS Tayside
18.3


NHS Western Isles
0.4


Total NHS Boards
462.6


Special Boards
 


Scottish Ambulance Service
10.9


NHS National Services Scotland
3.4


NHS 24
0.2


The State Hospitals Board for Scotland
12.2


NHS National Waiting Times Centre
1.8


NHS Health Scotland
0.2


NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
0.2


Total Special Health Boards
28.9


Total
491.5



  The basis of capital allocations to NHSScotland has changed under the terms of CEL 32 (2010). Allocations comprise a formula based allocation for statutory compliance and equipment replacement with project specific allocations made for projects in excess of board delegated limits.

Public Spending

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the impact of the rise in the cost of a franked (a) first class letter to 39p and (b) second class letter to 28p on the budget of (i) the Scottish Government, (ii) each Scottish Government directorate and (iii) the NHS in 2010-11.

John Swinney: Based on 2009-10 volumes, the estimated impact on the rise of a franked (a) first class letter to 39p and (b) second class letter to 28p on the budget of (i) the Scottish Government is an increase of (a) £2,204 and (b) £6,449. This equates to an overall increase to the postal budget of 9.7% per annum (which will impact on all Scottish Government Directorates).

  The Scottish Executive is unable to provide the estimated impact on (ii) each Scottish Government Directorate and (iii) the NHS in 2010-11. The NHS does not hold this information centrally and the Scottish Government’s Royal Mail postal services’ reporting does not go to directorate level.

Transport

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when construction work will begin on the A75 Hardgrove to Kinmount improvement scheme and when this work will be completed.

Keith Brown: The unprecedented £1.3 billion cut to our capital budgets has presented us with some difficult choices and we must prioritise existing projects over new as set out in the recent budget statement. Schemes which have completed their statutory process such as the Hardgrove to Kinmount Improvement will be prepared so that they are ready to be taken forward at the earliest possible opportunity.